To adopt: Go to the shelter at 112 Norma St. in Hollister, call (386) 325-1587 or visit www.hsnefl.org. Those who adopt from this Saturday to Saturday, May 30, will get one free introductory dog training lesson plus a starter supply of free dog food courtesy of Rene and Allison Hofstetter of Custom K9 Dog Training in Elkton and Michelle Stevens-Kraft, publisher of Pet Yellow Pages, a St. Augustine-based pet magazine

Financial donations: They can be made several ways -- using credit card, (386) 325-1587; online using Paypal, www.hsnefl.org ; or by mail, P.O. Box 188, Hollister, FL 32147

Food or supplies donations: They can be dropped off at the shelter. (To get there, take Florida 20 from Palatka toward Interlachen, turn right on to Rowland Avenue, then first right onto Norma Street.)

IN NEED OF A HOME: Armand is a 5-year-old blue heeler that was adopted once but came back due to his inability to get along with another small dog. Armand is housebroken, but would prefer a home without cats and small dogs.

IN NEED OF A HOME: Danni is a 3-year-old mixed breed. The Humane Society saved her from Animal Control in 2007, but doesn't know too much more about her. Danni loves to play with her toys and is in need of a home of her own.

IN NEED OF A HOME: Cancun is a 5-year-old tan and white pointer. He has been at the shelter since 2006. Cancun is a couch potato. He doesn't like cats or other dogs, making it difficult for him to find a home.

IN NEED OF A HOME: Dino is a 5-year-old hound mix. When he first came to the Humane Society, he had no fur and was in bad shape. Now, his hair has grown back, but he still can't manage to find a home.

One of the last remaining no-kill animal shelters in Northeast Florida is facing financial trouble and may have to close its doors.

An uptick in abandoned animals and decrease in funds has the Humane Society of Northeast Florida in Hollister searching for new ways to stay open. The facility serves Putnam, St. Johns, Clay, Baker and Alachua counties.

The nonprofit agency cut hours from five full-time employees last month, causing them to quit. It’s expecting to layoff seven of its remaining 14 employees within 60 days. And unless the shelter sees an immediate surge in donations or adoptions, a permanent close may be imminent, said Kristi Adams, shelter co-supervisor.

“We’re trying to stay open as long as we can to adopt out these animals,” she said. “Right now we’re just grabbing an extra month, and grabbing an extra month, and hopefully a big donation will come in soon.”

If donations to the humane society continue are the current pace, they’re projected to be down $250,000 from the $430,000 yearly budget, Adams said.

The shelter would need to close the gap within six months to remain open.

The only source of funding for the organization is donations, its thrift store and adoption fees.

Adams attributes the financial trouble to an increase in area foreclosures and layoffs.

“A lot of people in Putnam are losing their homes and jobs,” she said. “It’s sad, but the first thing to go when you’re trying to save your family is often the house pet. And because we are no kill, everyone wants to bring their pets here.”

As a result, the shelter is over populated.

The humane society is currently housing about 200 pets, 60 more than its average. Some of the animals have called the humane society home for nearly three years.

The shelter adopts about 60 pets per month. But the adoption fees don’t even cover the animals initial medical expenses.

And with drop-offs to the shelter outpacing adoptions, it’s no longer admitting new pets, Adams said.

“We’re just trying to free up some space,” she said. “Hopefully we receive some help from the community.”

The humane society is taking steps to ensure it wont have to close its doors on a few days notice and pawn the animals off at other shelters, like the St. Augustine Humane Society’s closure last year.

The first step will be scaling back.

The humane society’s board is considering closing the shelter to the public three days a week, limiting its service by 50 percent, said Perry Smith, president of the Humane Society of Northeast Florida board.

“This is a poor county,” Smith said. “We don’t have the financial backing of Jacksonville or St. Augustine. So when donations are low, it hurts. We don’t want to do this, but we don’t have many choices.”

The organization is trying to get the community to respond with several fund-raisers.

The shelter is also working to put together a pet calendar, which raised $30,000 for the organization two years ago.

“Raising money has definitely been a challenge,” said Sherry Mehl, head of the fundraising committee. “People are simply giving less, but we’re trying to get the word out for as cheap as possible. We just want to do what we can for our animals.”

If the shelter were to close, the board fears its Jacksonville counterpart will experience similar issues, with residents bringing their pets to Duval.

The closure would also cause problems with Putnam’s Animal Control, forcing the agency to increase staff and euthanasias, Smith said.

“We’re in this to save the animals,” he said. “But if we continue to save animals the way we are now, we’re going to run out of money. So some hard decisions are coming.”

Are there any news regarding the shelter? Has it been shut down in the meantime?
Mini Me got a good point btw. sometimes it might be a better solution to euthanize the pets before they spend a long time under questionable conditions

...is ideal in a perfect world. It's not realistic, even when the economy was good. Many Humane Societies are finding out they simply cannot sustain the ideology - there's way too many cats and dogs out there caused by irresponsible pet owners and out-of-control breeding.